


Santa Clauses Are Coming To Town

by RoadrunnerGER



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Angst and Humor, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-05 07:41:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16806334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoadrunnerGER/pseuds/RoadrunnerGER
Summary: Song inspired Christmas case with our favorite Detectives in Advent Calendar style.





	1. Santa Claus is coming to town

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, Everyone! I liked the idea of sharing an Advent Calendar with you, so I decided to repost one of my earlier SVU stories, featuring Elliot and Olivia. As we're away for a couple of days, I can't post the first chapters daily, but starting with December 6, they're going to come up one a day. Enjoy!

**Santa Claus is coming to town**

_Santa Claus is coming to town_ jingled out of the speakers in Elliot Stabler's car. After picking up his partner, Olivia Benson, they were heading for the station, singing along with Bing Crosby & the Andrews Sisters. Now it was the Sisters' part and Olivia grinned widely as she tried to keep her voice synchronous to the song.

Elliot returned her grin mischievously when he stopped at a red traffic light. It did not happen too often that she was in such a playful mood. But after an undisturbed weekend, the first in December, and the first snowflakes tumbling down, she was really relaxed.

The snow began to cover everything in white. In the morning twilight the decorations that illuminated almost everything in the streets glistened like candles on a tree and spread Christmas cheer to everyone.

 _He sees you when you're sleeping and he knows when you're awake_ , Olivia sang with the Sisters and Elliot fell in right behind her together with Bing, He knows if you've been bad or good. So be good for goodness sake!

 _You better watch out,_ you better not cry _, you better not pout,_ I'm telling you why, they sang in turns, then the same part was repeated by all of them. _Santa Claus is coming…_

You mean the big fat man with the long white beard, sang Elliot, emphasizing every word of the line with an even broader, mischievous grin.

 _He's coming to toooown,_ they all sang and an instrumental part ended the song.

Neither Elliot nor Olivia cared about the fact that their singing was totally off key. In the car they were in a small world of their own where it did not matter. It _would_ matter if they ever repeated this in front of their colleagues. They both knew that they would never do _that_ , well, at least they would not do it as long as they were sober enough to know better.

"So, what did you do your first December weekend?" Olivia wanted to know.

"On Saturday we were in Manhattan," Elliot replied. "The girls went on a shopping marathon. Later we went skating on Wolman rink." He chuckled. "We got home late. The kids were pestering us to eat somewhere in the city, so we went to our favorite Chinese restaurant." Now he grinned at her. "And yesterday we went to the morning mass and then to Kathy's parents for lunch and coffee."

"Sounds as if you were pretty busy." Olivia could not hide a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"Worse than work," he joked.

"Oh! Really?" she played his game.

"Yeah. Have you ever been shopping with four girls?"

"Yes, I was," Olivia giggled. "That's because I'm a girl."

"Oh, how could I ask! You're always going in groups, even for the restrooms," Elliot chuckled.

"Very funny!" she grumbled.

"Well," he shrugged, "it's true."

She could not deny that. They _were_ going in groups. Olivia just opened her mouth to tell him about her going dancing on Saturday night together with Alex when, at the very moment the light flashed from red to green, someone in a Santa suit jumped in front of the car. Even if the car was still standing, Elliot jammed on the breaks. Their talk was forgotten when the Santa opened his coat, presenting his jingle bells and shouting _Merry Christmas_.

"Do you see what I see?" both the detectives asked each other incredulously.

As fast as he had jumped into the street the Santa jumped out and walked away down the street.

"We don't let him get away with that, do we?"

Olivia opened the passenger's door and was out of the car before Elliot had a chance to reply. Incredulously he stared at her back, then he followed her with the car.

Olivia was only few yards behind the Santa, when he noticed her and began to run.

"NYPD," she shouted. "Stop!"

The Santa did not think of complying to her order for so much as a second. He just ran even harder, but he was left no chance. He ran right into Elliot's SUV, Olivia hit him from behind and got him into a firm grip.

"Hey!" he protested. "Let go of me! What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm arresting you," she replied, clicked her cuffs around his wrists and presented her badge to him. "You have the right to remain silent…" she read him his Miranda rights.

Elliot stood in the open driver's door and had nothing else to do than to wait until she was finished. Olivia shoved the Santa in the backseat and on they went to the precinct.

"Liv," Elliot said hesitantly while he was driving. "I think we should have called a sector car to transport this guy."

Olivia was confused. "He's fine back there, El, why? What's wrong?"

He squinted over at her and grimaced.

"Well, he reeks of pot, and Kathy and I have to do the grocery shopping tonight. What am I gonna tell her if she smells it?"

"Why not tell her the truth? You apprehended a flasher on the way to work and transported him in your car?"

"She's not going to like that very much."

"Well, no one said that she'd have to like it. You just should tell her the truth."

Thinking hard he bit his lower lip, then he nodded.

Everyone was cheering, when they entered the bullpen with the Santa in their tow.

"Don't you think that's a bit early?" John shouted.

"Yeah, still almost four weeks 'til Christmas," Fin added.

"Three and a half," Liv replied. "And he's not here to entertain you."

"Even if he might want to," Elliot chuckled, thinking of the reason they had arrested him.

"Did I miss a memo or something? Since when did we start busting unlicensed street performers?" Fin wanted to know.

"Since they started jingling their bells in the public street," Elliot replied.

As long as the coat was closed nothing suspicious could be seen. The Santa wore heavy, red boots and red trousers with the crotch cut out. His hood was thrown back on his shoulders and his long white beard hung lopsided under his chin.

"Bells?" John wondered. "His bells?"

"Right," Elliot confirmed.

Neither he nor Olivia joined in the ensuing banter. They guided the Santa to the interrogation room and told him to sit down. Then they left him a few minutes on his own.

"Okay," Olivia began, when they came back. "I'm Detective Benson, my partner, Detective Stabler. We're curious. Isn't it a bit too cold to indulge in such a hobby?"

"I don't know what you want. It's my body. I can do what I like."

"As a matter of fact, you can't," Elliot said, presenting that smirk Olivia saw so often during interrogations when a suspect was unaware of having done something wrong.

"Why can't I? It's a free country…"

"Well, presenting yourself to others this way is considered obscenity," Olivia declared, "which is a Class A misdemeanor."

The Santa swallowed. "I'm in trouble?"

"You can say so, yes," Elliot confirmed, suppressing a grin.

"Can I call a lawyer?"

"Of course you can."

"Then it will be better if I don't say anything before he arrives, hm?"

The both detectives looked at each other. He was absolutely right.

tbc…


	2. It's snowing Santas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry 1. Advent to everyone!!! :-*

**It’s Snowing Santas**

“Where is this world going if even Santa Claus is freely following his lusts?” John Munch wondered aloud when Olivia and Elliot handed the Santa over to some uniforms who would handle booking him.

“Yeah, what a fantastic Monday morning,” Fin Tutuola agreed sarcastically. “I’m really getting into Christmas mood… church bells keep on ringing... Santa’s been smokin’ a joint…”

“You know, recent Canadian government research has shown that although smoking marijuana increases one’s libido, it also causes shrinkage of the male sexual _equipment_ ,” Munch said.

“So what?” Fin wanted to know.

“So maybe they should start a new anti-drug public service announcement for the holidays. Smoke a doobie, and your church bells will turn into a set of cheap wind chimes. They could do some very interesting audio-visual effects with that.”

“What does that tell us?” Fin theorized, “That we should sentence sex offenders to chain smoking marijuana cigarettes until they can’t be dangerous anymore? I think there might be quite a few tokers who would go out and commit sex crimes just because they _want_ a sentence like that.”

Munch was not the only one who was chuckling now.

Olivia and Elliot were about to return to their desks, when Captain Cragen stepped in their way.

“I need you to go to Mt. Sinai,” he said and gave Olivia some papers. “Gang rape.”

“Fin’s right,” Elliot grunted. “What a fantastic Monday morning.”

“Must have happened last night,” Olivia said, scanning the reports. “She was only found this morning.”

“Doesn’t make it better…” Elliot put on his coat and got Olivia’s for her.

“She’s only fifteen…” she mumbled as she put it on.

When they reached the hospital they talked to the nurse first.

“The poor girl was in really bad shape,” Nurse Eugenie said. “In addition to the wounds caused by the repeated rape she got frost-bite.”

“How long was she left in the cold?” Olivia asked.

“We don’t know.” Eugenie turned deep red with anger. “The bastards threw her behind a Dumpster as if she was only trash to them.” Her shoulders sagging with disbelieve, she sighed, “I can’t understand it! As often as I have to face it on the job, I can’t understand it!”

 _We don’t either_ , Elliot thought. By the look on Olivia’s face he could tell that she harbored the same feelings.

“Can we talk to her?”

“You can try, Detective,” Eugenie agreed, starting down the corridor. “The poor girl. Her mother’s a single mother and can’t be here… she has to work, stupid boss didn’t let her go. She stopped by earlier, but if she doesn’t want to be a single mother without a job she had to be on time. That’s sooo sad.” Eugenie told them as she led them to the girl’s room. When they reached it, a hysterical man in his late thirties rushed toward them, muttering, “Patricia? Patricia…?”

At once, Eugenie's demeanor changed to resolute professionalism as she addressed him, “And you are?”

“Benjamin Rawlins,” he panted. “Where’s my daughter? They told me that my daughter’s here…”

“Mr. Rawlins,” Elliot stepped forward. “I’m Detective Elliot Stabler, my partner, Olivia Benson…”

“I need to see Patricia!” he interrupted him. “Where is she?”

“She’s right in here,” Eugenie said.

“Can we talk for a moment?” Elliot asked.

“I just got a call that she’s here,” Mr. Rawlins frayed. “My bitch of an ex-wife didn’t even bother to inform me that our daughter was raped!”

The detectives looked at Eugenie who shrugged apologetically, “She told me otherwise…”

“What did the witch say?” Mr. Rawlins spat, “That she’s a poor single mother who can hardly afford to feed them both? This lying slut keeps me away from my daughter and is selfishly sitting in some beauty parlor to let her…”

“Mr. Rawlins,” Elliot tried to stop him. “Can we talk?”

“I don’t want to talk!” Rawlins shouted, seemingly ready to put up a fight. “I want to see my daughter!”

“Mr. Rawlins,” Olivia stepped between the men, “why doesn’t your wife want you to contact your daughter?”

“Because she’s a bitch!” he spat with venom. “I’m just good enough to pay child support she can spend on her selfish needs instead of caring for Patty!”

“Did something happen before your divorce?” Elliot wanted to know.

“Yeah, she slept with other men,” Rawlins hissed. “Why is that important now? She cleaned me out and now I have to beg if I want to see Patty… or meet her secretly.”

“See, Mr. Rawlins, your daughter was…” Olivia started but was interrupted, too.

“Whoa! Easy there!” Rawlins thundered, realizing what she was implying. “You think I could hurt her? You think I might be… you… you!”

“Mr. Rawlins, try to calm down,” Elliot told him quietly, holding up his hands in a pacifying gesture. “We’re just doing our job.”

“Then you should try find my daughter’s rapist!” Rawlins growled.

“We were about to talk with her when we met you,” Olivia explained. “Do you want to be present?”

Rawlins swallowed, thinking hard his forehead crumbled. “We should ask Patty if she wants me there,” he finally replied.

Elliot and Olivia were surprised by this reaction. Eugenie nodded and opened the door, peeking in.

“Honey?” she said. “Here are two police officers who’d like to talk to you. Honey. Is it okay?” Then Eugenie backed off. “Just call me…” she said before she left.

The detectives nodded their thanks. Olivia was the first who stepped to the bed. Elliot held back and stayed a few steps behind her. Yes, he was trained and as careful with victims as Olivia… still he was male. And as long as she was his partner she was the first to make contact and introduce him.

But when the girl spotted her father entering behind them, she cried out, “Daddy!” reaching weakly out for him. He rushed to her side and took her slim hand with both of his big and strong hands.

“Hey, sweetie,” he murmured. “I’m here now.” There were tears in Patricia’s eyes. “Can the detectives talk with you? Can you answer their questions?”

Desperately holding on to him she nodded.

“Hello, Patricia,” Olivia said. “I’m Detective Benson and this is my partner Detective Stabler, but you can call us Olivia and Elliot if you want.”

Elliot watched the girl cringe back when her gaze flickered to him. Tears sprung in her eyes.

“No,” she whispered and shook frantically her head. “No, no, no…”

“It’s okay, Patricia,” Olivia tried to soothe her. “No one’s going to hurt you. You’re safe now. We both are detectives. There’s nothing to be afraid of.” She glanced at Elliot. _Stay there_ , this look said. As if he would have needed the reminder.

“Patricia, you would help us a lot, if you could answer some questions. Do you think you can do that?”

The girl slightly nodded.

“Can you tell me how you were attacked?”

“I’m… not sure,” Patricia whispered. “I was walking down the street wh… when some… some…one grabbedmeby…” her voice became faster and she swallowed the words.

“So, someone grabbed you when you were walking down the street,” Olivia summarized. “Have you seen him?”

“No.”

“Did he grab you from behind?”

“Y..yea. Dragged me… into a van.”

“Do you remember its color?”

She shook her head. “It was dark… blue, black, green… I don’t know.”

“Can you tell me what happened next?”

“They hurt me!” She shook with sobs, tears rolling down her cheeks, and she frantically squeezed her father’s hand. “While they were driving. Hurt me so bad. When they stopped, others came…”

“Do you remember any detail that might help us?” Olivia asked softly.

Patricia sobbed heartrendingly. “Nothing… all red… all in… in…” her voice trailed off. Both detectives waited patiently until she regained it. “They were all in… in… S… San… Santa suits,” she stuttered.

tbc…


	3. Interrogation

“These guys all wore Santa Claus costumes?” Cragen asked astonished.

Olivia and Elliot nodded in unison.

“She didn’t see anything but red hoods and white beards,” Olivia said. “She saw them switch places, but the only way to tell them apart was the different colors of their eyes.”

“So, they dragged her into their van…?” ADA Alex Cabot asked.

“Yes,” Olivia confirmed, “She was on her way home from visiting her friend Amber when someone grabbed her from behind. They dragged her into the car and drove away. As soon as she was in, someone pulled down her pants and was over her. Then they changed. When they stopped, more Santas came and did her, too. After everyone had a turn, they drove her away and threw her out in the alley behind the trash containers.”

“She was too weak to move,” Elliot added. “Nurse Eugenie said two homeless men had brought her in. She called the police and the officers then called our squad.”

“Have you met these men, too?” Cragen asked.

“No. They did a disappearing act. Nobody knows them. We won’t find them out on the streets.”

“Do we know where exactly Patricia Rawlins was found?” the Captain demanded to know.

Olivia shook her head. “No.”

“CSU is already working on the rape kit,” Elliot added, “They’ll call as soon as they get something.”

“Okay,” Cragen said. “Any other lead?”

Both were thinking for a moment.

“The parents are quite interesting, but they won’t have anything to do with the assault,” Olivia said, and looking at the ADA she asked, “Can’t you do something for the father? The mother’s keeping him from his daughter, but he still has to pay child support. He seems like a decent guy, and from what I’ve seen, he cares more about Patty than her mom does.”

“Why? What did you see?”

“Well, dad was there for his daughter, mom wasn’t,” Elliot said dryly. “And Patty was glad to see him. The nurse says the mom claimed she had to go to work, but the dad says she doesn’t even have a job.”

Alex just shrugged. “If that’s the case, it sounds like Patty got placed with the wrong parent, but who’s to say the dad isn’t the one lying? Maybe there’s another reason the court thought the mom was the better parent. I’d need to know more before I could do anything.”

“You’ll get to know more,” Olivia said, determined. “Go visit Patty in the hospital, and you’ll see what I mean.”

“Okay,” Alex agreed. “Now, do you have anything else on the case itself?”

Frowning thoughtfully, Olivia said, “Elliot, what about the Santa from this morning? Do you think he might know something?”

Elliot squinted over at her. “You mean something like a colleague who’s interested in little girls? That’s weak. I mean, it’s not like these guys go out drinking together in their Santa suits after work, Liv.”

“No, but the better stores must require some kind of training before they’ll let a guy start holding little children on his lap,” she said. “He might remember someone from that, and weak is better than nothing.”

“You can at least go and ask him,” Cragen said.

“Very weak.” Still, Elliot frowned. “I have a hunch the guy we have now and the ones we’re looking for didn’t have any training. I mean, those suits are everywhere on sale.”

“You got a better idea?” She saw him shake his head. “C’mon, then, as long as he’s still in custody. We have to talk with him anyway as soon as his lawyer’s here.”

“Wait a minute!” John shouted after them, holding up the receiver of his phone. “CSU, line three.”

Elliot answered the call. He nodded several times before he hung up again.

“That was Detective Taylor,” he said. “They got two different DNAs.”

“Just two?!” Olivia breathed. “Are they sure? There must have been more than five or six offenders!”

Elliot nodded grimly. “And he got the tox results of Lindsay DeBrino. She was definitely drugged.”

“Son of a bitch!” Olivia muttered. Lindsay DeBrino was an assistant manager who was assaulted in the closet down the hall from the ballroom where her company held their annual charity banquet. The cater waiter who assaulted Lindsay was already in custody. They needed the information for the arraignment.

“Okay, guess that’s it for now,” Elliot declared. “Let’s go talk with our Santa.”

“I’d like you to wrap up the Gordon case first,” Cragen said. “You can still question the Santa later, can’t you?”

“Sure we can. There’s enough time left until the arraignment.” Olivia was not happy. She wanted to do something for Patricia. But then again all victims deserved their full attention. She sighed and followed Elliot to their conjoined desks.

xxx

“Detective Stabler?”

Under the doorframe stood a thirty-something man with unruly black hair. He came in, approaching their desks.

“I’m detective Stabler,” Elliot said. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m Benton Traylor. Do you have Milton Bradley in custody?”

“Yes, we do.”

“What’s the charge?”

“He’s charged with obscenity,” Elliot told him.

“Milton Bradley?” John mused, looking up from the file he was working on. “Is he a trust-fund baby? Is he going to beat us over the head with a $ 1,000 an hour lawyer for a lousy misdemeanor, or is he going to pay you in Monopoly money?”

“I definitely don’t get $ 1,000 an hour,” Traylor said, sounding slightly confused. “I’m an assigned counsel.”

“Then let’s go talk with your client,” Olivia threw in. She led the way to the holding cells where Bradley was waiting. They took him to an interview room where he was talking with his lawyer for a few minutes.

“So,” Elliot said, “our colleague just told us that you’re wearing a famous name. Are you related with the game manufacturer Milton Bradley?”

“How’s that relevant?” Traylor wanted to know.

“It’s not,” Elliot replied. “I’m just curious.”

“No,” Bradley answered. “It’s just an unfortunate coincidence. My maternal grandfather’s name was Milton. My mom named me after her dad and my dad’s last name was Bradley.”

“Ah, I see.” Elliot leaned against the wall next to the barred window. “Well, it’s time for you to _go to jail_. Go directly to jail. Do not pass go. Do not collect $ 200.”

“Actually, that’s a Parker Brothers game,” Bradley told him, looking bored as if he had to explain it for the umpteenth time. “They were bought out by Hasbro, and Hasbro also bought out Milton Bradley.”

“Clever guy, huh?” Elliot teased. “Then you should be clever now, too, and don’t make any fuss, because we both saw you expose yourself… directly in front of our car. That’s obscenity. Then you ran; that’s evading arrest. And the officers who booked you said that baggie full of weed in your pocket weighed 8.3 ounces, just enough for criminal possession in the third degree, which is a felony, my friend. You’re looking at doing time.”

Traylor looked at Bradley. The young man had gone white and his eyes shone with rising panic. So Traylor turned to Elliot, “My client has no criminal record and…”

“Do you have kids?” Elliot asked. “Would you want him to jingle his bells in front of your kids? How do you know he doesn’t have a bunch of elves dealing drugs for him?”

Traylor frowned. “That’s irrelevant for the defense. I have to act in my client’s best interest.”

“Ah, he has a point.” Elliot pushed himself off the wall, closing in on Bradley. With both hands flat on the table he leaned forward to get into his face. “But we’re talking about drugs _and_ a sex crime…”

“That’s a misdemeanor,” Traylor interrupted him. “At most he’ll get probation. Call your ADA. We’ll cut a deal and he’ll be home in time for supper.”

“It’s not that easy, Counselor,” Elliot said with a shake of the head, still holding eye contact with Bradley. “As of 10:00 this morning your client became a person of interest in a gang rape. In fact, since we have him in custody and two NYPD detectives witnessed him committing a sex crime, I would say he’s actually our number one suspect.”

“Gang rape?” Bradley panted. “Why…?”

“Don’t say any more,” Traylor advised him.

“Actually that’s not a good idea.” Elliot shook his head. “Your cooperation may be the only thing convincing us that you haven’t done more than jingling your bells.”

“What kind of evidence do you have?” Traylor demanded to know.

“Fluids found in the victim…” Elliot explained, his gaze still fixed on Bradley. The young man became nervous, squirmed in his chair. “As soon as we have compared your DNA we’ll know it for sure.”

“There’s nothing to know!” Bradley cried out. “I didn’t rape anyone. All I did was expose myself!”

“You shouldn’t talk about that,” Traylor told him.

“But I have to! I didn’t rape anyone! When did that happen? And how do you get the idea that I could be responsible?”

“Where were you between ten last night and one this morning?”

“I was studying! Then I went to bed, alone.”

“That’s not really an alibi,” Olivia said. “So you could be one of the Santas the victim described to us.”

“Santas?” Bradley choked. “You know how many Santas are running the streets these days? It could have been anyone!”

“But we start with you,” Elliot snarled. “You better talk. Who’s responsible for placing the Santas with their employers?”

“The job agency at the university. Lot of students are working as Santas now. It’s a good job!”

“Is _a Santa Claus_ the best description you’ve got?” Traylor demanded to know. “If your answer is yes we’re finished here. It _could_ be anyone.”

“What have you done to Patricia Rawlins?” Olivia asked.

“Who?”

“Patricia Rawlins, the girl you and your friends dragged into a van to rape her.”

“I didn’t rape anybody,” Bradley whined, then he pulled up the sleeve of his coat and presented his arm. “Here! Take my blood. I didn’t hurt anyone!”

A knock on the mirror stopped the detectives. When they stepped out of the interview room, Alex was waiting for them.

“I believe him,” she said. “We’ve got him on obscenity and possession, but he’s not stupid. He wouldn’t offer DNA if he was involved in the rape, and I’m sure he wants to keep his record clean. I’d much sooner lock up our rapists than put an exhibitionist stoner in jail. I say we offer him a deal.”

Elliot and Olivia had to agree. They had no evidence they could hold him on. So Mr. Bradley actually would be home for supper. Through the mirror they watched Alex go in and turn directly to their Santa.

“Assistant district attorney Alexandra Cabot,” she introduced herself. “Let’s put it plainly. I’m willing to make you an offer if you’re cooperating.”

“What are we talking about?” Traylor asked before Bradley could do as much as open his mouth to answer.

Alex spoke directly to Mr. Bradley.

“If you at least try to help, we’ll drop the evading arrest charge. If you give us some information that actually leads to the right suspect, we’ll talk about dropping the obscenity charges. And if you’re nice about it and we get a conviction, well, we’ll see about the drug charges.”

Traylor was nodding thoughtfully. Then he smiled at Bradley encouragingly.

tbc…


	4. Stuck

After they were finished with the interrogation, Elliot and Olivia had to write the final reports for the Gordon case. When they were done with everything connected with it and another talk with Alex Cabot, it was already afternoon. It was snowing again but on the molten remains of the morning’s snow the flakes turned into water right away.

After a short break, both detectives started to search for every agency that arranged the appearances of Santas. They had known that there were a lot of Santas in the city, but not that there were  _that_ many agencies.

So they decided to call it a day and to continue fresh on Tuesday. Fresh was relative, because now they had been riding their desks for hours already and had no lead to anything. Warner could not provide them with more than just the information that it had been several attackers as long as they had no DNA to compare with the samples. They also had to work five other cases and a lot of paperwork to finish, so their mood was bad… and it was not even noon.

“We can’t even be sure that the Santas who attacked Patty are registered at any agency,” Elliot sighed. “Maybe they just had the suits at home, for Daddy playing Santa Claus, and they wanted to have some fun.”

“Don’t say that!” Olivia moaned.

“What’s going on here?” Munch wanted to know.

“The only description we have of the attackers of our latest rape victim is _a bunch of Santas_ ,” Olivia told him.

“Sounds as if there’s a conspiracy going on there,” Munch said. “I always tended to be suspicious of a fat old man who climbs down the chimney to sneak into the homes of little boys and girls to…”

“Maybe we should question her again,” Elliot suggested, cutting Munch short. “She could remember something new now.”

Olivia eyed him quite skeptically. She was not fond of the idea of putting Patty through more trauma, but they were running out of options.

“Okay, let’s go,” she said.

“Thanks for listening,” Munch called after them as they grabbed their coats and left the squad room. “I know you’re always interested in my theories.”

When he dropped into his own office chair he caught a strange look from his partner, Fin.

“What?” Munch queried. “It’s true, isn’t it?”

“Just shut up,” Fin told him and turned back to his file.

xxx

“Hey, Patty,” Olivia addressed the girl in the big hospital bed. “Do you remember me?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “You’re the detective.”

“Yes, Patty. I’m Olivia.” She saw the girl’s gaze drift off to Elliot and that she shrank back into the mattress.

“Elliot is my partner,” she explained.

“I know,” Patty said barely audible. Her eyes followed the detective as he went to the window. For a moment, he looked out before he sat down in the chair standing in the corner of the room.

“We wanted to see how you’re doing,” Olivia softly said. “Has your father already been here today?”

Patty nodded slightly and a small smile tugged on the corners of her mouth.

“And your mom?”

At once her features crumbled.

“I’m sorry, Patty.” Olivia felt bad for her. It was horrible if one parent did not really care for the wellbeing of a child.

“She was here.” Patty’s voice was so low that Olivia could hardly hear her. “They were fighting.”

“Who was fighting, Patty? Your mom and dad?”

Patty nodded. “They went out and thought I wouldn’t hear them, but they were yelling so loud.”

_Poor girl,_ Olivia thought. She glanced at Elliot. That was something he would never understand and she could read it in his play of features.

“Patty, I know that that is difficult for you, but can you remember anything else? Something you didn’t tell us yesterday?”

“Blue,” she whispered. “One had blue eyes.” She glanced at Elliot again and shuddered. “Like his.”

The detectives exchanged a short but meaningful look. Olivia could tell that Patty’s comparison with her attackers had hurt his feelings a little, but she knew her partner was a pro and would not let it affect his behavior with their victim. As if to prove her faith was not misplaced, he got up and walked towards the door but did not leave.

“No one will hurt you here,” he softly said. His voice was warm and filled with compassion. “All the nurses and doctors and we are protecting you, Patty.”

“Is there anything else?” Olivia tried to divert her from her partner.

“Ummm…” she was thinking. “They were so loud. They were shouting and laughing… but… but I don’t… don’t remember what they said.”

“It’s okay, Patty,” Olivia soothed her.

“There was… I mean, there… one of them, he…” Tears started to form in her eyes and her breathing became strained. A sob escaped her.

“You’re so brave, Patty,” Olivia told her. “We’re here to help you. So whatever it is, you can tell us.”

In her bed the girl was squirming, fighting with the scary memories.

“One… he…” She swallowed. “He said something about… attending a lecture… and… and that he… He’d give me one.” Now she was sobbing.

“Thank you, Patty,” Olivia gently said, reaching for the girl’s hand, but Patty pulled it away and hid it under the blanket. “It’s okay. You did so wonderful. Thank you so much.”

Favoring her with another encouraging smile she turned around to leave and Elliot followed her.

xxx

Olivia lay on her couch and was zapping from one TV channel to the next. There was nothing that could hold her interest long enough to make it to the next commercial break. Now she was on the Weather Channel watching a program about waterspouts over the Mediterranean. There had been several during this fall and it was fascinating to see what kind of power these winds could have.

_It’s like in the movie,_ she thought.  _There it was a cow flying round and round…_

Right then a twister was building over the ocean. Its trunk hit the water and rose it into the air. Where the masses hit the shore they were destructive.

_And these men destroyed the life of Patty._ Olivia sighed.  _It will never be the same. She will never forget and she probably won’t be able to have a normal relationship. They robbed her of all of that._

The attack closed in on her like one of those tornados and tore her apart.

A tear squeezed out of Olivia’s eye when she blinked. She knew what the rape had done to her mother and she did not want to see Patty in the same position. Thinking of the girl’s mother made her furious and she yearned to talk about her own pain.

But there was no one.

Briefly she thought about calling Elliot, then she thought of Alex, but she discarded both ideas. She did not want to intrude.

When another segment followed, analyzing the possibilities and consequences of a tornado hitting New York she zapped to the next channel. A romantic movie. Great. Just what she needed.

She watched for about ten minutes, then she turned the TV off and went to bed. There she lay and mourned her lonely night until she fell asleep.

tbc…


	5. Cookies

Wednesday was a quiet day. Both, Elliot and Olivia, had to attend trials and spent most of their time at court, waiting to be called in to testify.

When they finally came back to the station they had to catch up with their paperwork so that they had to stay in the bullpen, chained to their desks.

“I think I’ll stop by at the hospital on my way home,” Olivia mused. They were about to call it a day and Elliot already turned the computer off.

“Patricia?” he asked.

“Hm hmmm.”

“This case is hard on you, huh?” he wanted to know.

“Yeah… stirs up memories,” she said.

Elliot nodded. He knew her well enough to guess that she meant her mother… and he knew better than to push that subject. If she wanted to talk she would come to him.

“I really wish we could do something for Patty,” Olivia said. “Her father really is worried and wants to be there for her and her mother tries to keep him from it.”

“There’s nothing _we_ could do,” Elliot said, knowing that that would not stop Olivia.

“I want to go and see her… maybe her mother will be there.” She rubbed her temple. “If I were her mom I’d sit at her side whenever possible,” she said. “She was raped by a whole group of men, for God’s sake! She needs her mother!”

“You can’t force her,” Elliot said.

“But I could talk to her, El! It’s not okay how she treats Patty and her ex-husband! He’s her dad. He loves Patty! And she needs him!”

“Do you remember Ashley Austin?” Elliot asked. “Don’t do that to yourself again.”

“You don’t want to compare them, do you?” Olivia gasped. “This is totally different! Patty was badly hurt, an experience she’ll never forget… and her mother’s not even visiting her in the hospital!” Her voice grew louder with every word with her rage.

“Olivia,” Elliot said as calmly as he could manage. “Just be careful, okay.”

“Don’t tell me you don’t care about her!”

He grimaced. “You know that I do!”

“So why are you trying to talk me out of it!”

“I’m not!” Elliot grumbled. “I just asked you to be careful.”

“I could talk with Alex. Maybe she knows a way to help Mr. Rawlins.”

Elliot nodded. He still did not like it, but to talk with Alex would be a good step. Hopefully Olivia could help Patricia without getting into trouble… without getting a restraining order against the whole squad like it happened when she tried to help Ashley Austin.

“Okay, I’m gone,” he said, grabbing his coat. “See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you,” she replied, already on the phone, calling Alex.

xxx

When Elliot came home he was surprised to find his whole family in the combined living room and kitchen. Their children were visiting friends or playing sports or roaming the mall so often that he was not used to seeing them all together anymore.

“Did I miss something?” Elliot asked. “What did I forget?”

“Nothing!” Kathy laughed. “Call it a lucky coincidence that we’re all here!”

“Great!” Elliot beamed at her and stepped back into the foyer to hang his coat on the rack. “So… what are we going to do with the evening? Or does someone have to leave?”

“No, dad!” Maureen chuckled. “We’re staying.”

“Wow!”

Kathy saw him smile broadly and her heart warmed with the sight.  _It’s been way too long since he’s been in such a good mood,_ she thought.

“I don’t know what you’re doing, but Lizzie and I planned to bake some cookies,” she said.

Elliot’s smile broadened.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

Everyone’s head turned to him. They stared at him incredulously.

“What?” he asked, laughingly. “You think I don’t know how to bake cookies?” And he took off his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt.

“You’re serious!” Maureen gasped. Then she jumped up and strode over to the kitchen area. Kathleen followed her and went right to the cupboard to get out flour and sugar canisters.

“What are we going to bake, Mom?” she asked.

“How about macaroons?” Kathy suggested. “We can use the white of the egg for the macaroons. Then we make shortbread and use the yokes for scrambled eggs.”

“Shortbread?” Dickie frowned. He just looked over at them from the sofa.

“What about you, son?” Elliot asked back. “You don’t wanna join us?”

“You think we need six people to bake some cookies?”

“Oh, come on, it’ll be fun.” Elliot tried to convince him. “It doesn’t threaten your manhood to bake some cookies!”

“You bake ‘em. I’ll be in charge of quality control.”

“Quality control?” Elizabeth said sounding puzzled.

“Yeah. I’ll have to sample every batch.”

“Ah ahh,” Elliot scolded, but he was still grinning. “I don’t think so, buddy. If you want to eat cookies, you have to help bake them.”

“Awww!”

“No, no. You wanna eat, you’ll help. C’mon!”

But Dickie did not get up. He just stared at the others grumpily. Grinning mischievously, Elliot exchanged a look with Kathy. Then he dropped what he had in hands and rushed over to the sofa.

“And you’d better help!” he shouted, reaching for his son, tickling him. “Will you help?”

“Yeah!” Dickie chuckled helplessly, squirming under his father’s hands. “I’ll help, I’ll help!”

“Good boy,” Elliot teased and backed off. “Come.”

“Do we have pecans?” Dickie wanted to know when he climbed over the back rest of the sofa only to earn a disapproving look from his mother.

“Don’t climb the furniture…” his sisters chirped in a singing voice.

“Pecans? To make what?” Kathy asked.

“Those crunchy cookies you cover with powdered sugar.”

“Ah, _Pastelitos de Boda_.” Kathy smiled. Then she turned to check if she had pecan nuts. “Yes we have some,” she said and got them out of the cupboard to put them down next to the other ingredients. Grated coconuts, eggs, powdered sugar, flour, butter, salt, pecan nuts and vanilla extract gathered on the table. The whole family started to work on two recipes and soon they had the first baking trays with macaroons in the oven. Since the _pastelitos_ had no leavening agent, they could wait in the bowl until the macaroons were finished baking.

Chuckling Elliot avoided a playful punch from Kathy after he pinched a bit of the cookie dough. When he let his hand run through his hair, he left a white trace of flour and powdered sugar behind.

“Today I have five kids, huh?” Kathy teased, plucking a bit of dough out of his hair.

All her husband could do was to grin sheepishly.

“You _are_ a big kid, Elliot Stabler,” she taunted. “Look at them! Not even Dickie is such a litterbug.”

Elliot shrugged. He did not care. It had been some time since he had so much fun and he enjoyed it. So Kathy could not be mad at him. Instead she hugged him, smacking a kiss on his cheek.

Whistling innocently Maureen nudged Kathleen’s side. Lizzie was giggling and Dickie almost vanished into a bowl, licking out the last of the macaroon dough.

Kissing Kathy in return Elliot beamed at her. Then he bowed forward to whisper in her ear, “Wanna sneak up to the bedroom when we’re finished here?”

“Maybe…” she murmured back. “The kids are up to something. We could give them some room.”

Elliot chuckled. “Is that a promise?”

Kathy nodded and checked on the macaroons. The  _pastellitos_ were next and while they were baking they cleaned up the mess they made preparing the cookies. Now Elliot noticed that the kids went into a huddle from time to time, whispering and throwing glances at their parents.

“What’s up at school?” Elliot asked innocently.

“Chelsea doesn’t know about St. Nick’s Day,” Lizzie blurted out.

“She’s not Catholic,” Kathleen explained.

“We were talking about different Christmas traditions,” Dickie added. “Jews don’t celebrate Christmas at all, they have Hanukkah.”

“But I would have thought that Chelsea knows St. Nick’s Day,” Lizzie griped. “She’s Protestant. She could know it.”

“So what’s the problem?” Elliot asked.

“She became jealous and pulled Lizzie’s hair during the break,” Dickie told him. “They were fighting.”

“You fought with another girl?” Elliot frowned.

Lizzie looked at her hands and shifted position uncomfortably. “Yeah. She really became jealous that we would have candy in our shoes tomorrow morning. I wanted to explain it to her, but before I could answer her, we were fighting.”

“And what would you have told her?” Elliot wanted to know.

“I wanted to say that St. Nicholas was a bishop and the patron saint of sailors and children and that he gave away the money he inherited from his parents and we put our boots out on the threshold to be filled with candy and presents because he brought presents to the three virgins at night.”

Even as he was angry at her for her behavior at school Elliot was impressed. She actually knew where the tradition came from.

“That’s right, honey. And you should explain that to her tomorrow when you go and share your present with her.”

“But she’s obnoxious. She just started the fight because she wanted to fight.”

“That’s no reason for you to do her that favor, young lady.” Elliot squatted down beside his youngest daughter. “Maybe she just needs a friend.”

“But, Daddy…” she moaned.

“Stop that. It’s possible that there’s more behind her behavior than you know. And maybe you’re the one who’s supposed to find out. You’re going to apologize to her and share your candy… and if I ever hear that you fought with someone at school again, you’ll see that you got off easy this time.”

“Yes, sir,” she mumbled.

“Now cheer up again.” Elliot said, caressing her cheek when he straightened up. “The cookies are finished.”

The kids smiled. They all looked over Kathy’s shoulder when she got the baking tray out.

“And no one will get some before next Sunday!” she declared and playfully slapped at the hands reaching for the shortbread. “Off you go!” she shooed them away. “Why don’t you go play something?”

“So that you can go to play with dad?” Kathleen chuckled.

Her parents stared at her aghast. Before they could say anything the kids pivoted on their heels and ran up the stairs.

tbc…


End file.
